Discovery trail: La Foux Arboretum

This trail is part of a network of forest paths and sites that allow visitors to discover the forest and wildlife of the Aigoual massif. It is one of the seven arboretums in the massif.

Covering 10 hectares, the Foux Arboretum is situated on deep, cool, and highly fertile soils, which explains the remarkable height of its trees. These include Nordmann and Cephalonian firs, Douglas firs, and American red oaks.
But La Foux owed its fame primarily to the presence of two Vancouver firs (Abies grandis) planted in 1904, very close to each other, which in the 1980s were the tallest known trees in France. Unfortunately, following several dry summers that weakened them, they fell victim to a small insect, 2 to 3 mm long, living under the bark and known by the rather charming name of Pityokteines spinidens! Their crowns having dried out very quickly, they had to be cut down for visitor safety reasons.

A major reforestation program was carried out on the Aigoual massif at the end of the 19th century, under the direction of forester Georges Fabre. It was in this context, and to study the behavior of species under different ecological conditions (altitude, rainfall patterns, soil types, etc.), that a network of ten arboretums was created between 1885 and 1903.

Start: on the edge of the D986, between Camprieu and Lanuéjols.
Duration: 45 minutes
Distance: 1.2 km
Elevation: 103m

The leaflet "L'Aigoual and its arboretums" is available in our Mont Aigoual Causses Cévennes Tourist Offices.

Find information about the Aigoual state forest on the ONF website. The "Aigoual Massif 4 Seasons Nature Hub" project is co-financed by the European Union. Europe is investing in the Massif Central through the European Regional Development Fund.

​​Spoken Languages: